Cover illustration done for Art South Africa. Although a little tragic to be furthering another senseless Malema-like debate, the article by Karin Preller was insightful and working with this Tretchikoff icon was irresistable. Thanks Bronwyn and Brendon for the opportunity and Vivian for your input. Art, non-art and Zulu Dada.
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The article, titled The Tretchikoff Conundrum and written by Karin Preller, took a look at the critical response in the media and the art world. Here is a short excerpt::
"Humour is a feature of many reviews, mainly as a vehicle to express extreme distaste. Pollak describes Tretchikoff's animal paintings as "riddled with paralysis"; the portraits as evidence of "his mortician's brush imbuing every sitter with rigor mortis"; his technical ability a fallacy "to be viewed with the gravest suspicion" – grass looking like "fried parsley", fur "as tough and abrasive as a new doormat". The list goes on, but Pollak's conclusion is that Tretchikoff's work remained "static and intellectually null".7 In a review on ArtThrob Sean O'Toole focuses on the hype of opening night, eventually linking the work with the sugary snacks on offer: "The painter is really a pastry chef. His specialty is cupcakes and alluring tartlets. I pause in front of a marshmallow that pretends to be a layer cake. It is nominally a still life."8 On a more serious note, O'Toole finds the work "beyond criticism", implying that any kind of critical academic rereading of Tretchikoff would be pointless."
Below: Me signing prints at the Art Fair. The spin-off is that I am now back at gym after being able to view my own alluring tartlets.
